


Planted Firmly

by Electric_Butter_Slug



Category: Uprooted - Naomi Novik
Genre: F/M, Fluff
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-02-13
Updated: 2020-02-22
Packaged: 2021-02-28 00:26:52
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 6,362
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22674796
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Electric_Butter_Slug/pseuds/Electric_Butter_Slug
Summary: Picking up directly where the story last left off, Agnieszka introduces Sarkan to her mother.
Relationships: Agnieszka/The Dragon | Sarkan
Comments: 5
Kudos: 36
Collections: book fics





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I just really fell in love with the characters and I can't let them go yet ok? I suck at summaries so please disregard the work summary for now at least. Also I intend on updating this as soon as I finish new chapters for as long as I can so please feel free to subscribe to the journey!

"Come and meet my mother," I said. I reached out and took his hand.

Sarkan followed behind me in what could only be described as begrudging complacency. I felt the sticky heart-tree fruit juice gluing our hands together and felt a swell of pure happiness as I dragged him the short distance across the clearing to where my mother was standing, trying desperately not to gawk at us, or more accurately at the Dragon. 

"My Lord," my mother curtsied to Sarkan. Her formality would have confused me if I hadn't known the villages past and what he was before. My family had thought he was this terrible immortal beast who stole away their daughter in exchange for their relative safety. I suppose in a way, that was correct. Sarkan had no desire to directly draw his power from the land to keep the Wood at bay but needed the power the girls he took could funnel.

That was before we found the glade of heart-trees and the danger within. He had been too afraid to lose me that he planted his own roots to the Wood. All for me.

"Nieshka?" My mother said. I hadn't realized it but I had been lost in thought staring directly at his stoic face. I just couldn't forget all he had done for me and how strong our magical bond was even now after the time and distance. 

I snapped out of my thoughts and focused back on my mother."What were you saying?"

"The Dragon was just telling me more about the unfortunate state of his tower."

"Yes. Regrettably, all the important structural bits were lost during the fight with the Wood. It's also quite a shame to have lost all the magical tomes that we did. I've yet to find another copy of _Luthe's Summoning_ quite as fine as the one destroyed then." Sarkan had the most sincere look upon his face. I couldn't help but feel somewhat guilty about the tower. Sarkan tugged me away from my mother with a smooth excuse of grabbing refreshments. "You can't blame yourself for the Wood's corruption, you fool. We both know it had started much longer ago."

"Yes but I'm still the one who led Marek to your doorstep..." I replied sullenly.

Sarken stepped closer to me and reached out silently with his magic. His hands were crossed behind his back and he stood proud next to me. "Agnieszka, you alone made it possible to cast the Summoning without the book in the first place. Your method opens a new entire world of spells." His face gave nothing away to anyone who might have been watching but his words betrayed his nature. I felt much less hopeless about the tower as a new idea formed.

"We could rebuild the tower," I started looking up at him. "We could use a spell of mending together adapted to turn back the damage done to the structure."

"And what of the Baron's men and the Baron himself who still lay covered in the rubble? Would you be able to handle the sight? Would you want to?" Sarkan's questions bit deep. I wasn't sure I had an answer.

"How has no one gone to claim them?"

"Are you dense? I am not talking of their physical bodies. The ground is the site of a large trauma in our past and you think if we were to rebuild that the trauma would just dissipate?"

"What about our good memories there? You mean to tell me they aren't enough reason to return?" I shot back. The tower, as strange as it seemed, was dear to me. It was where Sarkan and I had learnt together and shared so much more. It was even where I learnt his true name was Sarkan and not just the Dragon as so many of us had thought.

Sarkan looked so much like his namesake at this point that most of the people gathered in Dvernik stayed clear away. It felt like we were fighting but also not at the same time and I was not sure how to feel about it. His intense gaze pierced me so fiercely. If I didn't have the experience behind to know that his scowl was all bark and no bite, I might have been afraid. Instead of being afraid, I just shot the same scowl back at him.

Finally he sighed in defeat and said, "fine."

That was all I needed to bring a childish grin to my face. As much I loved my own little cottage in the woods and wanted the simple life with Sarkan, I was giddy to return to where our relationship began. Before we left Dvernik though, I was determined to have one more thing happen. I stepped back towards the celebration and faced Sarkan. I reached my hand out and asked, "will you dance with me?"

The beat was quick and lively and made my magic hum beneath my skin. Sarkan took my hand ever so slightly too late for the quick song. The musicians had just began a much slower more subdued song. I blushed immediately as this had not been my intent at all. I felt the eyes of so many on me. I could make out Jerzy and Krystyna watching us from the harvest tables with kind looks as if they were watching a fairy tale unfold before them. My mother had gone to my father near the bonfire and waved to me with love. I was definitely distracted from Sarkan even though I could feel his magic humming against mine. I felt my cheeks getting heated as I noticed more eyes on me. Danka had also turned to look at us from over by the musicians. From the look on her face, the song change may have even been her doing. Dvernik's boldness had no sign of fading until they had thoroughly gotten their fill of their newest coupling, which was us.

Sarkan chuckled low enough that I was certain only I could have heard it. He tugged the hand I had given him and I fell into his arms. Once I was securely against him, he expertly led me in a slow waltz to the beat. I felt a little like a mess as I had to focus all too much on his movement to look into his face.

"Agnieszka," Sarkan said. "You are putting way too much thought into this for someone who casts spells like you do."

I blushed fiercely at him calling me out, but I stopped worrying as I had been and gradually moved my gaze up to meet his. Once I was holding his gaze while dancing he grinned at me ever so slightly. It felt immensely intimate as I was sure only I could notice the corners of his mouth turned up. 

Sarkan and I danced for what felt like a pleasant eternity together eventually getting fancier with our steps and Sarkan himself beginning to be looser with his feelings of elation. Much like most of Dvernik, we had become drunk with the dancing and I was beginning to wonder if my beer buzz was spreading to him through our magic that was continually mixing now.

Without even trying we found ourselves weaving a spell over the ground that began to grow flowers that were out of season wherever we stepped. We were unsure if they were illusions or real as our magic sung together with the song. It wasn't long before Sarkan and I were laughing against each other. The mood in Dvernik was slowly calming down as the party came to an unfortunate end. The band regrettably announced that the next song would be their last and many of the residents had begun to clean up and make their ways home. My father came over to us as we breathlessly stood in the flowers we had created with a soft smile on his face.

"My dear, Nieshka," he started. And then turning to Sarkan with a slight bow of respect, "My lord, I'm very glad you could stay for our modest celebration."

Sarken nodded sagely as he regained his stoic composure and the two of us caught our breath. 

"Will you be returning to Kralia tonight?" My father inquired. It felt as if he was asking on my behalf as it was the question I had been to afraid to ask all night.

Sarkan fussed with the lace at the ends of his sleeves considering his answer before crossing his arms behind his back and replying. "I've been tasked with checking in on the state of the tower." It was most likely a lie from our discussion before to go back together.

"You can stay at my cottage for the night," I blurted out almost immediately. 

And with that we said our goodbyes to my family and returned to my home in my own little now purified grove of the Wood.

-

The Wood was quite dark when we got back and I could feel Sarkan's tension from across the small clearing. I didn't blame him for still being weary of the Wood though, as he had lived for a century at least with the Wood trying to take us all. My hut was relatively small being in the roots of the great oak. I only had one room with the bed roll back in the farthest corner closest to the tree trunk on a shelf I had used _fulmishta_ to raise. I left Sarkan in the hut alone briefly to check the heart-tree fruit stash. It had lowered a bit so took a quick moment to refill it with some of the fruit from the festival. Sarkan simply raised an eyebrow as he watched me do so but kept whatever comments he wanted to make to himself. 

I sat on the bed roll and beckoned Sarkan over. He wandered over to the bedroll but rather than sitting down, he stood against a great root right next to it. 

We remained like that a lot longer than I would have preferred until finally he broke the silence to ask, "Is this truly the place you've chosen to spend your days in since I've been gone?"

"Of course!" I exploded. I hadn't realized how hurt I still was deep down for him leaving me alone to go _wither his roots._ I took a deep breath before continuing. "What else was I supposed to do after you left me? And besides that, the walkers no longer bother me and are actually super helpful without the Wood Queen's influence so there's nothing to really fear out here anymore," I responded as he frowned at me as if I had hurt him. I didn't care what he may have thought of my outburst at this point.

"You say that as if it didn't impact me at all to make the choice. What would you have had me do instead? Leave King Stashek alone to deal with the remaining corruption in Kralia alone? He's only 7, Agnieszka, and hardly ready to deal with all of that even with a regent."

"That's not the point!" I shouted. The silence between us was stifling and I could feel the heat rising in my cheeks as the frustration of what I was trying to say but not articulating well built. "I thought you had left me forever..." I finished in a whisper looking out towards the Wood, at the floor, at the bedroll, anywhere but at Sarkan.

"Agnieszka," Sarkan said uncharacteristically softly. I still refused to look at him, refused to really believe he was really back and not just another illusion I had created. Even after the night we had shared in Dvernik it was too much to believe. "Would you like some space?"

I grabbed out for his sleeve feeling the lace cuff and clenched tightly onto it. I had to be careful not to tear it as I held him in place. I could feel the slack in the material as he came closer and sat next to me. He reached over my shoulder to hold me close. I relaxed into his embrace and let it ground me. It soothed me so much to be back in his arms that I didn't even realize when I fell asleep.

"I had no idea you thought that..." Sarkan said so softly that I wasn't sure I actually even heard it in my drowsing state.

-

I woke up alone the next morning unsure if I had dreamt the night before or if Sarkan had just left again. I spotted a few walkers watching me hesitantly from the Wood as I went outside and down to the Spindle to collect water to wash with. I sunk to the ground by the Spindle and found myself feeling saddened by the idea that Sarkan might only back in my dreams even though it had felt so real and I found myself working the rose illusion out of habit.

" _Vadiya rusha ilikad tuhi."_ I felt the magic rush against my own before I even realized why the spell sounded so familiar.

"Sarkan." I said simply as I felt the power he was lending to my illusion. I turned around to see him standing looking at the illusion we had made together so many times in the past

"I hoped I would be back before you awoke this morning," he replied as he handed me a basket that smelled of fresh pastries.

We ate the pastries on the bank of the Spindle in amicable silence and once we were finished Sarkan asked, "When would you like to return to the tower?"

"I'm ready now."


	2. Chapter 2

Sarkan held his hand out. I took it and felt his magic swell as he cast the transportation spell. " _Zokinen valisu, akenezh hinisu, kozhonen valisu._ "

He cast the spell expertly and we landed right in front of the destroyed tower. We definitely had our work cut out for us to restore the tower. Once the tower was repaired, and only then, could we go about repairing the destroyed and blood soaked land surrounding it. What Sarkan had said the night before was also still in my mind though. There were likely still bodies beneath the tower where we stood against Queen Hanna/Wood-Queen as I doubted the risk would have been worth recovering the bodies.

"We used magic and returned the bodies to their families for burial shortly after I returned to Kralia," Sarkan began. "They would have only taken the Queen and Marek and left Marek's soldiers, Baron Vladimir, and his men had I not been there to convince Alosha that taking all of them back was the right thing to do."

I blankly stared at Sarkan in disbelief. It was hard to believe he would have been the one to ensure the people were returned to their families with how cold he always presented himself to the world.

"Oh quit staring at me like that. I'm not heartless." He responded in an annoyed tone. And then, "Well, this fools errand was your idea. Where do we start?"

-

"I used _Fulmishta_ to shape the ground in my cottage and when we build these great walls," I gestured to the now ruined trenches around me, "we used it in combination with _Fulmedesh_... Neither of those good for repairing the tower itself though..." I could feel the Dragon's piercing gaze watching me as I talked out my process and paced back and forth in front of the tower's door. "We could combine a mending spell with one of the earth spells as stone is earth in a way of speaking..." Sarkan was still watching me as I stopped pacing to look back at him, my face an open invitation for suggestion.

"You can't seriously be asking for my assistance with the spell for this. If I knew a simple spell to do this, why would I have waited all this time to do so?" He crossed his arms.

I sighed and turned back to the tower, feeling the magic in my body bristle in the anticipation of being released into the world. " _Paran fulmishta farantem, paran paran fulmkea."_ I tried the altered mending spell but it felt odd. All that seemed to happen was a cracked stone reconnected itself.

Sarkan continued to watch with amusement as I struggled to find a spell to work. "How did you do the spell that allowed you to step into the tower from out of range for the teleportation spell?" He asked.

"I used the illusion spell we did with the rose and then created you in the library..." It was at that exact moment an idea formed. "What if we do something similar to the tower?" I reached out and took his hand. He obliged and we began to build the tower back up with our illusion.

We were careful to replicate every detail we could remember; the library with all of the books, the kitchen I had been so terrified he was going to toss me into the fire of on our first day together, my old lonely room where I had 'accidentally' bludgeoned Prince Marek complete with the Spindle painting, Sarkan's room where we shared that one intimate night before our whole existence changed, even the crypt where Kasia had been kept after I broke her free from the heart-tree. Once the tower had been recreated with our illusion I attempted to breathe life into it as I had before when I was reaching out for Sarkan. I channeled the same place of raw emotion and threw my magic at the structure. Sarkan must have felt what I was doing with my magic as he complimented it perfectly with his own magic. Where I focused on the memories and the structure, he focused on the details and the foundation.

The magic hummed through me so loudly that I became unaware of anything surrounding me aside from Sarkan and our magic. The spell eventually came to it's own natural conclusion and I opened my eyes to see the tower back in its full glory. A smile slowly spread across my face as I turned to look at Sarkan who had his usual mask of indifference on. It didn't matter though as I could see the shock and glee beneath it. I started laughing and threw my arms around his neck in a hug. He was startled by the suddenness but softened into it quickly and also began to laugh.

"We did it!" I cried joyously.

"You impossible thing. I've never seen something like this and I must admit I'm impressed." He cupped my face and kissed me deeply. My face became quite hot as I kissed him back forgetting all about the bloodshed that had occurred on the grounds and focusing solely on Sarkan's embrace. When we finally broke apart I suggested we go inside to see if our work looked as good where it really mattered.

Stepping through the great doors felt like stepping back in time to the simpler days before Marek had arrived to thrust us into the Wood. We started by going to the kitchen and looking around and through all of the food stores. It all seemed intact and repaired so we went over to the hidden door in the wall and Sarkan opened it with his magic. The stairs leading down seemed fine but there was a clear difference to the walls. The spell writing was gone even though the structure was repaired. The further down we went, the more of the same we found. We turned back towards the kitchen and wound up past it to the laboratory and the library.

The lab was very empty but the structure itself held strong and was the same as always. "I took all of the potions and elixirs I had brewed back to Kralia with me, or at least all those that survived," Sarkan supplied when I inquired as to how everything could have been destroyed to such extent. Sarkan hadn't really taught me much of the potion making aspect so there wasn't nearly as much in here for me to remember fondly. If anything, it gave me pangs of loneliness for Kasia as I remembered my trip back to Dvernik at the very beginning of our magic training.

We moved on to the library shortly after. The first thing we noticed was that the spell was unable to repair some of the books, though the room was sound and beautiful. Even Sarkan's little clockwork bird was fixed and back where it belonged.

"It's not a surprise we couldn't fix all of the tomes here," Sarkan stated. 

"What do you mean?" I asked as I wandered over to the spot I had seen him sitting in so many times before. He was fingering through the pile of damaged books our magic had the kindness to pile on the table.

"Some of the spell tomes I had were more than ink on parchment." He picked up one of the finer and more intact half books. It had golden corners and fine swirling writing on the front that I couldn't read from the where I was. "They contained power of their own much like the foul bestiary I heard you found in Kralia."

I shuddered to think back on the bestiary. Comparing Sarkan's books to the cursed book that had corrupted Father Ballo felt so wrong even if I understood what he was trying to get at.

"It will take more than an altered illusion spell to repair or replace these tomes," Sarkan gently laid down the half book he was holding. " _Darendetal,_ " The half books piled back onto themselves in order across the table, all stray pages put where they belonged. "I suppose if I were to have them rebound, even without their inherent power they have value... Moving on, shall we continue our journey?"

I nodded and took his hand trailing with him to the guest room and the dark hall leading to his own quarters. The room so vividly in my mind that I felt the heat rise in me just looking towards it. The ward was no longer active to cast those he would rather keep away into nothingness. Sarkan opened the door and stepped inside. I followed with my breath unintentionally held. The room was exactly as I remembered it being with the narrow canopied bed and small table; even the cup of wine was there even though it was now empty. I touched the soft velvety curtain surrounding the bed remembering our past fondly. 

"Let's go see what else our spell has returned to us," Sarkan said behind me. He sounded as though he were on the other side of the room, afraid of what might happen if he were to get closer to his own bed with me this close.

The last room for us to explore was the room I had stayed in while we trained with the strange Spindle painting. The room always felt very plain to me and now was no exception as everything looked and felt the same. It was clear we had accomplished our goal of repairing the tower to exactly how it had been before and it almost all felt like too much. As I examined the room I had the misfortune of seeing what lie outside my window and I flopped face first onto the bed partly from exhaustion from our spellwork but also partly because I had no desire to think of what hap happened to make the ground so red outside. 

I heard a faint squeak from Sarkan's boot as he turned to leave. I let him go without saying a single thing even though I just desperately wanted to scream about everything. After a while, I stood and looked out the tower window with a sigh. I put aside my own feelings and considered the ground that still needed work but I knew if I tried to convince the Dragon to do so today, he would shut me away. Always worried about the extent of my powers for me. As of right now it was really hard to believe the reasoning for that was because he cared about my not overexerting myself.

I padded softly down to the kitchen and made myself busy making simple bread. As it baked I sat near the fire watching the flames dance across the stone floor. I was lost in thought about nothing in particular and also everything. The thoughts of the battle kept returning to me. I saw flashes of Sarkan standing over the necromantic text looking fierce, cold, and frightening. He had asked for my help with the casting but I couldn't bear the text. Over and over I saw the Baron's men falling and raising from the spell Sarkan had let loose. I saw the arrows tearing through our men with no care that they had families and the blood spraying across the ground. I knew that same blood was still there even though Sarkan had taken the bodies to rest. Flashes of the true and fierce Falcon kept returning to my mind with vivid accuracy as well. Solya had had absolutely no compassion for our cause.

I hadn't realized I was crying until a tear hit my arm. I roused myself from my thoughts with great difficulty and checked on the bread. It had burnt but it was nothing _Lirintalem_ couldn't fix and so I cast it without even really thinking turning it into a lovely braided loaf. I sliced it and topped the bread with some butter and fresh cut tomatoes with a dash of salt and pepper. It was a simply treat my mother made for my on occasion that reminded me of the simpler days before I was thrust into a small war I had no desire to fight against people who should have been on our side.

I took a wooden cutting board and arranged a few more sandwiches for Sarkan and set out for the library. 

-

Sarkan wasn't in the library when I got there but I didn't mind being alone with the books. I set the sandwiches on the far end of the table and began to page through the broken tomes laid out on top. There was only one left from the three that had been laid out before so Sarkan must have taken the others and put them elsewhere for some unknown reason. The left one was the large book Sarkan and the witch before him had kept records on the Wood in with its golden lock danging uselessly from one cover. It was easy to believe this book had contained some power of it's own from all the time the two of them had kept records. I gently looked through the history of the Wood starting from when I had arrived at the tower. 

"I see you're up finally," I heard Sarkan say, not unkindly, from the door. I pointed towards my simple open faced sandwiches to offer him one and he sat down in his old chair to eat it. 

"What were the two other books you removed from the library?" Curiosity was getting the better of me but it didn't matter. What else really was there to discuss anyway?

"I removed the broken Necromancy tome and another spell book called _Requiem of Surrender_. I didn't imagine you would want anything to do with the necromancy tome and the other was more decorative so I tucked it behind the glass with the other curio books and pages," He gestured towards the case I had gotten my protection spell from. "I restored the ward on our room."

I jerked my head up to meet his gaze and blinked. "Our room?"

"Would you rather return to the room at the top of the tower alone?" He raised an eyebrow while maintaining fierce eye contact. Much of his brusque demeanor was gone but yet he still seemed guarded. 

"Does that mean the ward won't try to hinder my passage anymore?" I asked.

"It didn't exactly stop you even when it was set to bar your entrance so even if I wasn't inviting you to board with me, would it even truly matter?" He shook his head. "You impossible creature... No the ward won't hinder your passage to the room. You have full access to the entire tower." He used a spell to lift the great ledger book and bring it to where he was and frowned at the state of it. He began to work at undoing the lock and prying what was left of the clasp from the mostly intact cover. "Once you have rested adequately we can begin work on repairing the grounds. Perhaps even bring that bowl for the creatures of the Wood you so enjoy feeding and keep it here instead. This is of course assuming you want to stay at the tower still. There is no evidence to suggest whether or not our connection to the Wood will still wither in the tower now that the corruption is beginning to recede and even though I am willing to take that risk, I can't ask you to if you do not want to." He took some tools from a drawer by the glass case that I'me assuming were for book repair. "You are free to come and go as you please, after all." He finished without looking at me.

I spent most of the rest of the day in the library with Sarkan in amicable silence. The only time I had left was when I went to explore the living quarters he had offered to begin sharing with me and I spent a short while laying in his soft bed just staring at the canopy's roof. Upon returning to the library he had all but finished rebinding the ancient ledger and was working at fine embossing. The book was already looking fantastical with its red dyed leather binding, fine silky red ribbon bookmark, and gold gilt corner caps. I sat near him and became contented watching him slowly etch smooth swirls of filigree patterns. As he continued I noticed that he was working towards a great rose on the front cover, no doubt a nod to our first combined spell. 

The light outside had faded almost entirely by the time he set the book down and suggested we turn in for the night. I was feeling quite tired so I followed him without complaint back to his, _our,_ room and collapsed with him into the bed. I must have been more tired than I realized as I passed out very quickly.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I promise I'm not stopping writing! I just swapped to night shifts and haven't had as much time to write with getting used to my new routine. I'm not done with these cuties yet!

I drowsed for what felt like an eternity that night as my magic finally had a chance to rest after pouring all that energy into the tower. Today I wanted to finally get the ground repaired so I doubted today would be any less exhausting. Sarkan was nowhere to be seen, at least in the bedroom, by the time I finally crept out of bed and the sun was hanging lazily in the afternoon sky.

I stretched my sleep-stiff body out and went in search of Sarkan. I padded quietly to the library first but his seat was empty. The lab yielded the same result. Luckily, the tower was only so big and it would be easy to find him by elimination if not anything else. 

I continued my search with the hall downstairs, to no avail, and then to the kitchen. I heard a loud thud coming from the kitchen as I padded down and took the last stairs quickly. I was very startled by what greeted me once I walked into said kitchen.

"What happened in here?" I asked between fits of giggles. Sarkan was here but he was nearly unrecognizable under the layer of flour and other food residue.

"It would seem actually cooking is a lot messier than I remember it being," he responded with his arms comically out to the sides and a befuddled look on his face.

"I can't believe this is what you look like after trying to cook once in however long it's been. And to think you mocked my messy state that first time!" I couldn't stop laughing at how silly Sarkan looked. "What were you even trying to make?" I said in between gasping giggles.

Sarkan frowned back at me which only made me laugh harder as the flour floated off his every movement. " _Vanastalem_." He said with a scowl. The spell cleared the flour off of him quickly and revealed a soft silky looking coat with shiny silver buttons and perfectly pressed cuffs. He gestured to the many ingredients spilled about haphazardly. "I was _trying_ to make pancakes with these fresh berries on top. But this bag of flour just decided now would be the perfect time to dump its contents all over my pristine suit and then I dropped the milk and it splashed back onto me and startled me which caused me to hit the table and now the sugar is all on the floor as well."

"Oh yes. That dastardly flour has been whispering of the day when It was going to get it's revenge on you. " I said dryly and then pausing for as long as I could for dramatic effect before bursting out in laughter again.

Sarkan looked like a bristling cat as he stalked across the room and gently grabbed my face, cupping my cheeks. "Oh, you think this is funny, don't you?" My laughter had subsided as the heat in my cheeks grew. I wore a faint smile as I nodded back to him in answer. He then kissed me deeply drawing the bubbly feeling of happiness out in full force and shutting me up completely.

When we broke apart I teased him about his motives. "You only did that to try and make me forget about your disaster in here. But too bad for you! Nothing will ever make me forget the day the Dragon drowned in flour."

"You're ever so clever this morning, aren't you?" He responded dryly as he began to cast spells to clean the kitchen and create the pancakes he had wanted to make by hand. "Go up to the library. I'll bring this up in a moment."

I nodded and padded back up to the library at a leisurely pace. The sun had already begun to set from all the time we had wasted sleeping in and making the disaster in the kitchen. Upon the table, the ledger was sitting opened to a page accounting the recession of the Wood and detailing what we had done to repair the tower. His entries had gotten less stiff and contained more free emotion in the past few entries even if his writing itself hadn't changed at all.

I had just closed the book to admire the fantastic binding job he had done when Sarkan walked in carrying a tray of gorgeous pancakes and fruit. "It feels like we've swapped roles here," I said with a smile.

Sarkan set the tray down and served me some of the food with a mug full of soothing sweet smelling herbal tea. He made no effort to respond to my prodding and instead moved on to the matter of leveling and reviving the tower grounds. "Once we finish eating we can begin working on reshaping the land. I suggest we use the same spells as we used to make the trenches but with the opposite intentions. That is how your spells work, correct?"

I nodded as I stuffed the sweet and fluffy cakes into my mouth. They were fantastic and made me realize just how hungry I had truly been. We ate in mostly amicable silence, and when we were finally finished, we restarted discussion on where to start.

"We will need to work with the model again," I said as I led Sarkan back to the kitchen for ingredients. Once the thick clay-like paste was shipped roughly into a replica of the tower grounds we got to work. I was chanting _fulmedesh_ and _fulmishta_ and he was using the same spell of mending from before but the intent behind it was much softer. together we coaxed the ground back flat as it had been and worked on growing the plant life surrounding the tower. 

The grass was the easiest to coax back with its lush and hardy nature. The ground was covered by it within the minutes. The shrubbery was a little more difficult and the trees more difficult than that too. where grass took minutes, shrubs took 10 and trees took 20. The plant life was still leagues easier and less taxing than moving the ground itself was.

The entire landscape was back to normal by the time the moon was hanging directly above us. Looking at our work, Sarkan and I collapsed against each other in exhaustion. "Midnight," I said as I shifted and looked up at the moon through the window. Sarkan's steady hold was all that was preventing me from tumbling over and out of said window.

"After the last two days, I firmly advise you to rest at least all day tomorrow." Sarkan commanded as he tugged me back towards him weakly. "Possibly even the day after as well if I deem it neccesary."

"And what of you?" I snapped back. "All this talk of what I need as if you weren't right here next to me exerting the exact same, possibly more, strength and somehow you are the deciding factor on what _I_ need?"

"You don't exactly take care of yourself, you bumbling fool! I heard what happened in Kralia and how you ended up in the infirmary after expending too much. You could have died and yet you still continued on! Honestly I'm amazed you haven't died yet!" He wore a scowl of indignation upon his face that drove me mad. But instead of firing back at him, I simply nodded and padded off to bed.

In my old room at the top of the tower.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I also know it's a pretty short little update but it feels like its been forever and I want to get this out of drafts before it gets deleted so here you go! Unsure when the next update will be(See beginning notes for info on why)


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